Saturday, September 5, 2009

My Favorite Web2.0 Tools

Each of you recently selected two favorite Web2.0 tools and posted a reflection in your personal Blog.
Your task is to copy your text, then paste it in the Comment section of this Post on our Educ520 Course Blog. All comments will be available to everyone, which will provide a one-stop shop to share our reflections.

36 comments:

  1. Web2.0 appears to be a hub of resources and tools to be used online. From basic word processor to online video tools, this is a useful site for keeping everything fairly centralized and organized for easy access no matter where you are. It would certainly save time and effort trying to remember to re-save files and such on portable devices. With these tools I can work at my home computer, my laptop at the coffee shop or in my classroom and be able to access it again from any of these locations interchangeably without moving anything.

    A couple of tools that caught my interest were the live whiteboards (Dabbleboard or Scribblar.com) and the video converter (CatchVideo.net). The live whiteboards seem like a good way to get students to participate in board activities by downplaying or eliminating the need to stand in front of the class to do it. I also like the idea of being able to draw on photos and other online images and not having to try drawing it on the board myself. The video converter I look forward to using in both a personal and professional capacity. Being able to save numerous online videos to a DVD and not have to waste class time shifting between individual video pages in YouTube or such.

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  2. This is a web based platform, this means that the applications that are put on it are accessible on the web. Essentially available anywhere and any time that Internet is accessible.
    This could help me as an educator in many ways. I would be able to access documents that i have created at home for the classroom in the classroom instead of lugging a laptop around. I think that these products can really help with my preparedness as a teacher. it also, can help the students turn in assignments, work on assignments and see what is required of them from where ever they are at the time which could help with their effectiveness.

    Some applications that are of interest to me are, web pages and Google docs as well as photos. As a teacher i could create a class web page that i could access and update from anywhere that will allow the students and their parents to see what is going on as well as what needs to be done. Google docs can help me as the teacher access documents and things that i have worked on from other locations where i might need to use it. I can also share the documents with the students, co-workers or whom ever i feel needs to access the document. These programs will especially help me as a teacher be organized and prepared to teach my class.

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  3. Web 2.0 is an online resource of computer applications that can be very useful for classroom teachers. Web 2.0 is web based which means the same programs and files you create are stored online and can be accessed from any computer, anywhere on Earth. Access to this form of technology is a huge resource for me as an aspiring teacher. I can use these online tools to aid children in learning as well as have easy access to my own files as well as my students work from home, school, or wherever else I may be. Children will be engaged if they are getting to complete school work or view there creations online due to the fact that they are growing up in a technologically savvy world.

    Two Web 2.0 applications that I enjoy and am looking forward to incorporating into my own classroom are Dabbleboard and Yodio. Dabbleboard is an online whiteboard that you can sketch, draw and create either artwork if you are a student or handouts and flow charts if you are a teacher. My students will be able to use Dabbleboard either at school or home in order to create online art or make charts. They also can use it to brainstorm and organize their ideas during assignments such as beginning to draft a fictional story. Yodio is an online program that store voice recordings you send from your cell phone to your Yodio account online. On Yodio you can match voice recordings with pictures to create a slide show. I can use this in many ways. I can use this for instruction to walk students through a process step by step. I can also allow my students to record themselves talking about their work, take a picture of what they have created and then match the two up online to create a slide show of them talking about there own work. This can also be put online on a class website to share with families at home.

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  4. Web 2.0 is pretty much one stop shopping. Web 2.0 gives you access to TONS of amazing tools such as Google Docs, social networking sites, photos/images, blogs, web pages and so much more. Since all of these resources are online, they are easily accessible. I can access these resources from any computer with internet access.

    I've recently started using Google Docs and plan on using it when I start teaching. Its a great resource that allows you to access information from any computer. I can travel between home and school without worrying about losing information. Depending on the age level that I teach, I could have student write reports using Google Docs. I wouldn't have to carry around tons of paper to proofread or grade assignments. Students love social networking sites and communicating with one another online. As a teacher, I would love to have students create their own blog or to have a class blog. I think students will be more interested in writing/keeping a journal when they can make it their own online. It makes writing more interesting than just filling out a journal with paper and pencil. It also a great way to get them to take surveys and interact with one another. Some students have a harder time than others to talk out loud in class. This would give those students a chance to participate and have a voice in the classroom.

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  5. Web2.0 is a way for people to access applications and services. Because it's web-based, it is accessible anywhere there is internet access at anytime. These technologies can have amazing positive impacts in our classrooms because it is a collaborative tool that is free and accessible anywhere at anytime. It can improve our effectiveness as an educator in very many ways because there are so many different tools that can be used for so many different things in the classroom. Also, when working with our diverse classrooms, it is important to have a wide range of tools that students can use, and with the tools and options on Web2.0, there is bound to be one or two tools that students can work with and use. Because Web2.0 is web-based and easily accessible to all students at anytime, it is a great way for students and teachers to have open communication and collaboration of ideas and resources.

    1-Google Docs: Google Docs is a great web-based way for students and teachers to work on documents that can be shared, viewed, edited, and tracked. Because it automatically saves, students don't have to worry about ever losing their work, and it can be shared with the class and teacher. As an instructor, I can have students create gmail accounts, and have them do work on Google Docs that can be shared with their classmates and with me. This can be a collaborative way for students to get feedback from each other, send papers and projects and work to their peers to get edited, etc... Again, because it is web-based, it will be a quick and good way for students to access their work anywhere there is internet access.
    2-Delicious: Delicious is a web-based bookmarking website that allows students and teachers to save favorites/bookmarks on the web, rather than on the desktop. This can be another great tool for students and teachers to use in class, especially when students are working on group projects or research or papers. Teachers and students can share helpful links and resources with each other and/or the rest of the class. This is a great way for the class to be on the same page and to get all students resources that can be helpful in many ways.

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  6. One tool that was of my interest was Google docs. This tool is very neat because all you need to have is a Google account and then you can save anything you want, on Google docs, and it is web based so it can be accessed anywhere. This can be used many ways within my classroom. I can use it to make sure that I have all of my papers necessary for teaching. I can also use it with my students by showing them how to use it and how to send papers to me through Google docs and email. This can help my students achieve by learning their way around the computer as well as the Internet.

    One other tool that I was impressed with was Scribblar. This tool is an online whiteboard where you can upload images, add lines, shapes, as well as add live audio and chat. I can use this to have my children interactively follow along on their computer at school or at home. This can have a huge benefit, not only it is interactive and the children are learning to use computers, but they are learning the lesson as well. I really liked this tool and think that I will be able to use this tool with no issues attached. This will help to make me an effective teacher as well as a technologically efficient teacher. All of these tools are very cool, and I can't wait to use them in my classroom someday!

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  7. I am very pleased with Google docs. I can use doc sheets to create, present and co-edit with other teachers. It is easy accessible, and nearly impossible to lose. I can revise, track and build on my work. As a teacher, this is definitely beneficial; because as we know, our journey as teachers is always changing. We are constantly adapting our lessons based on the diversity of our students and Google docs gives us easy access to our work. Using this tool, I can create my work as a teacher, let others revise it, build off it, and it is available to me from any computer. I will never have to worry about losing anything again!

    Google Photo is another tool I am excited to use. We learned in Teacher Research that photos are a vital tool in research and can be very useful during our teaching methods. They are great documentation of our journey as teachers, and can enrich most any presentation, research, or projects that we are working on. Another exciting tool that we can use when dealing with pictures is Yodio. We can take our pictures, call in audio using a telephone, and combine the two for video. Simple as that. Like most Web 2.0 tools, these photos and videos can also be accessible for our parents, guardians, fellow teachers, and educators. These tools are beneficial for our growth, and can be a great advantage to our classrooms!

    Web 2.0 is also something we can introduce to our students. The tools available using Web 2.0 are a great resource for students. They can access these products to enrich their work, and display their academic achievement throughout their student careers!

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  8. Web 2.0 tools can really impact me as an educator with the way I relate to my students and provide exciting new opportunities that I can create in my curriculum. Web 2.0 is a hub of tools that provide applications and services online that can be accessed on all computers and are universal, and can be viewed by all different types of operating systems. I think it is really important to use the tools of the age in my teaching strategies because students can relate to the tools and technologies. I also think that it will improve the effectiveness of my teaching because if my students utilize web 2.0 tools, I can immediately help and update them (if I use google tools). I think it creates opportunity for open student teacher relationships as well as collaboration. I really like the idea of having students create videos and create skits and plays that can be viewed and shared with others via the internet. I think that these tools provide the opportunity for students to become more creative, as well as myself being more creative.

    My two favorite tools are that I have found out so far are blogger and tokbox and yodio

    blogger: is a blog site allows individuals to share their blogs, write their thoughts, comment on other blogs, upload photos, load videos. This tool is valuabe and can enhance my abilities as an educator beacause I can use this with my students and have them create blogs and finish assignments online, do their weekly journaling, upload photos as well as comment on my blog. I really think that this is a fun way to get students engaged and interested in writing and being creative. I also like the fact that as the teacher I am able to still create time limits on assignments to make sure all my students are finishing their work on time. I also like the fact that blogs can keep me in contact with parents, and I can provide updates in the classroom with my blog, and parents and students can both comment. This can create open communication and encourages parents to be active in their child's education.

    Tokbox: is a tool that I can record videos to. I really like this tool as an option because it enhances the opportunties for students to become creative. I really want to try to bring back creativity in the classroom. Students can create skits, record speeches. Then this could be uploaded on my blog and students and families can get an in an inside glimpse on what their children are doing in the classroom. We could even record music and presentations with this tool. I think this could get students really into the activities that they are doing.

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  9. I see lots of potential to using many of these web 2.o tools in my classroom instruction. For one, using technology helps to mix things up and provide different perspectives for students. The use of technology could potentially increase the applicability of the content to students and make things not only more interesting, but more relevant. It will broaden the scope of my teaching and enable me to better reach more of my students. If I am reaching more students in a deeper manner then I am increasing my effectiveness as an educator. I am interested in several of these web 2.0 tools.

    * Yodio - I have already used Yodio for this class with the OTEN conference and am already planning on using it in my personal life as well. Yodio provides a very simple way of recording voice or sounds, adding and synchronizing them with pictures, and creating simple slide shows or presentations, from any computer! This would make a great tool for students to orally present their research findings with visuals.

    * Screentoaster - I also liked screen toaster. It allows me to easily make videos of voice and whatever is on my screen, such as a PowerPoint presentation. Again, it accomplishes all this without the need of saving and transferring large files to whichever computer I need to use. It is all on the web and can be accessed from any computer with Internet. This could be applicable in the classroom for presentations I might give to the class, or much in the same way I described using Yodio, for the purpose of students creating presentations.

    * Blog - I have already been using this personally and also as an MAT student. This would be a great tool for the classroom. I could create a classroom blog where parents and students could go to keep up on what is happening in the class and also view the results of students work, in the form of things like Yodio's.

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  10. Web 2.0 is a web based platform for viewing applications and files. It allows a person to work on and retrieve their files on any computer, as long as they have access to the internet. Word processing, spreadsheets, presentations...Web 2.0 has it all! This technology is very useful for teachers. One application might be designing a spreadsheet that the whole class could use to enter results from a science experiment. Since it would be available online, any student could access the spreadsheet at anytime, and multiple students could be working on the spreadsheet at the same time. It would also be continuously updated, rather than having several versions of the spreadsheet that various people have worked on.

    Delicious.com looks like it would be a really helpful website. It allows a person to save their favorite websites online, rather than saving them to a specific computer. A person can also share their bookmarked sites with others. I could see myself using this in the classroom, by bookmarking different websites for my students to check out related to a subject we are learning about in class.

    I could also see myself using Yodio.com in the classroom. Yodio allows a person to record sound by the use of their phone, that is then transferred to the internet. From their a person can do whatever they want with that sound clip. They could add pictures to the voice recording or add it to a presentation. Since this product is web based, it can be used on any computer. In a classroom setting, this product could be useful in presenting information in a podcast on various research topics

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  11. My two favorite Web 2.0 tools are blogger.com and 4shared.com. Blogger.com is a free blog website that teachers can use very effectively for parent communication. Important information and homework assignments can be posted onto blogs for children to check at home. 4shared.com is a great way to share files with other teachers, such as great lesson plans. It is a great tool for teachers to collaborate with one another.

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  12. My favorite web2.0 tools are blogger.com, google docs, and Skype. I never truly realized just how dependant I was on web2.0 tools until now. Blogging is a useful tool that I have grown to love as a form for journaling my life and communicating with loved ones back home when I’m off chasing my various passions around the world. Although I have not spent much time personally using google docs, I’m highly interested in becoming acquainted with it as a way of keeping my documents current, easily accessible from anywhere, and eliminating the element of multiple copies or drafts on my hard drive. Skype is another highly used favorite of mine because it makes international calling affordable and also allows me to save money when calling locally. I LOVE THEM ALL!!!

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  13. Web 2.0 are internet based applications and services. You can have full access to all your software and files anywhere, and anytime as long as you have access to the internet. Nothing is dependent on the local computer. This technology can impact my effectiveness as a teacher because this is a social outlet. You can create, edit and share this information. With this technology I can teach through the world of my students. As an effective teacher, I will be able to have constant access to my word documents, spread sheets or presentations. If I forget to print something off my computer at home, no big deal! Because I can access my lesson plans from any computer with internet.

    Here are 2 web-based tools that are currently my favorite:
    Google Docs- This is an application of google. Here you are able to write all your documents and keep them saved to this application. You can also upload all your important documents that you don't want to get lost. I can ask my students to submit their writings on google docs. Then I can just sign in on any computer and see what my students have posted from their homes or at school.

    Wikispace: Wikis are simple web pages that groups, friends, and families can edit together. Wikis are great tools for engaging children in learning, involving parents in their child's education, and sharing resources with other teachers and schools.

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  14. Web 2.0 is a web based programs and applications that allows for complete mobility between computers. These new technologies could revolutionize the education world but to what extent and to what detriment no one knows for sure. These programs could help me as a teacher by reaching out to students in a whole new way that grabs their interest and makes them in control of their own learning. It would be difficult to set up, but once everything got rolling, Web 2.0 programs could revolutionize the teaching world.

    1.Yodio. Yodio allows anyone to call a toll free number and produce a recording that saves directly to the Yodio website. From there the person that created that recording can edit and combine it with other posts and pictures to form a presentation.
    I think I would use Yodio in the classroom to help parents stay connected with what their children are doing. Each child could take a picture of the work they did that day and make a recording about what they did and how proud they were of their work. Then I could post it and let parents look at it.

    2.ScreenToaster.com. Screen toaster allows you to make a recording of whatever it is you are doing on screen.
    I would use this to help parents or students that weren't as technologically savvy to do some of the more advanced things in my class. This could give them step by step instructions of where to go and how to do certain things on the computer.

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  15. I use a wide variety of web 2.0 tools in my personal life. I use Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Blogger, Google Reader, Google Docs, Ning, YouTube, delicious bookmarking, and Skype regularly. My favorite Web 2.0 tools are Facebook and Twitter, which I use daily to stay connected to friends and family that I don't frequently see in person. I also use Google Docs for all my note taking and document prep for school. Some of the tools that were described in class that I don't use and are interested in are Yodio (which I'm now learning), Google Forms, and Picasa.

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  16. So. Web 2.0. I had absolutely no idea what that even meant before today's class. But now I understand that they are tools that are web-based instead of PC based so you can access these things from any computer with the internet. That's totally useful for sharing, as well as having backup in case a site goes down, for example.

    So I was surfing around in the web 2.0 tools that are listed on the class site, and registered for dabbleboard. This is so cool!! Meg, Cirbi and I all sat here and scribbled on this document LIVE in about 5 minutes! I am blown away!

    I can totally see how you could use this up in front of the class -- drawing arrows pointing to specific parts of a picture for example. Each kid could have rights to the document and can scribble their own thoughts on it. We could create a collaborative picture. Very neat. But for the life of me, I can't figure out how to get the entire pic up on there. I tried changing the size but it didn't seem to matter. ?

    This class has just provided me with so much information that I am totally using in my everyday life already!! I just posted my first Screentoaster video. I'm not sure yet if it has audio or not...the original video is a Youtube video (that does have sound) of my son that I had embedded into my personal family blog. So I did the screenshot from there, and since I am not familiar with the keyboard shortcuts, I go back and forth to the Screentoaster site (which I obviously would try to avoid when doing a clean copy of something...I actually think it's kind of neat to see the back and forth like this.) Waaaaay cool!!

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  18. This is an awesome platform which makes use of a huge variety of web based tools. It offers freedom in that all of these applications may be used from any computer anywhere - they are not limited to documents help on your computer.
    I really like the googledocs.If I have written a draft of an essay I need for school and my computer crashes,I may use any computer to find it and complete it. This is fabulous compared with the MS documents where the essay would only be retrieved from my computer.
    Wordle is another web 2.0 tool that I will use both in my personal life and in the classroom. It is a fun,interesting way to use words both as an art form and as a collaborative tool.
    I would use this with students as a tool for spelling tests and recognizing words as well as an art project. It might be fun to have them use the randomize selection over and over to see the different possibilites there are with words and colors.With more experimenting I can imagine finding more uses for this as well as googledocs.

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  19. Web 2.0 is an internet program that supports many web services and applications. These services allow you to save almost anything (documents, presentations, spreadsheets, videos, photos, etc.) on the internet in a common format. This means you don't have to carry a jump drive, e-mail attachments, or anything else that can go wrong when you try to open it on another computer.

    We looked at several Web 2.0 applications and services today. Personally, I'm excited about Picasa (Google's photo site) and Yodio (which I already used once) to share photos with family.

    Professionally, I've thought of uses for a couple of the sites we learned about today. Delicious Tagging, a social bookmarking site, allows you to access "favorites" or web site bookmarks from any computer. This means that if you're at a computer besides your own, you can still keep track of web sites you use without having to carry around a notebook. This could be a great tool for my future students as they keep track of research they've done.

    We learned before about Google documents, but I thought today of uses for the classroom. A few years ago, I was an assistant in a U.S. History classroom. The teacher had the students form small groups and work together to create Powerpoint presentations for various research projects. Students had to all work together on the same computer in order to make it work. This meant they couldn't work on it separately from home, or even afterschool in the computer lab if not all group members were present. Also, saving all the groups' presentations on a jump drive so we could add them all to the laptop connected to the projector was stressful. With Google docs, students can collaborate from various computers and locations (anywhere with internet) at different times on the same presentation. Then they can all be easily accessed by the laptop used for the live presentations. No stress: now students can focus on their research project instead of the computer!
    Jessica Johnson

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  20. Web 2.0 is an interactive instead of static experience. As we are experiencing in educ520, we are updating class data sheets, Dr. Jahn is connected to our blog url's so that he is notified when there is a new post, and there is an ability for a constant dialogue that may occur among the users. Facebook, Twitter, social media, LinkedIn, My Space, YouTube, Google Docs, Skype, etc., are all Web 2.0 applications.

    Google Docs is a free online alternative to microsoft office. I can see using applications such as Google Docs as being very helpful in maintaining classroom discussions outside of the actual classroom. In the evening, when students may be working on projects or preparing for exams, it would be helpful for both students and parents to be able to have as close as possible to a live dialogue with other users.

    Skype is a free tool used for teleconferencing and instant messaging. I also think Skype would be beneficial at some level, however it depends on the accessibility and whether students have the resources for this application. If a student was absent and needed to make up an assignment, perhaps a dialogue using Skype would help in assessing the student, allowing them to participate, ask questions and make up some of the work they missed. One draw-back to this is it could be time consuming and would likely be an evening or after hours situation, unless it was an option to use during prep period.

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  21. My Favorite Web 2.0 Tools
    Web 2.0 are web-based applications that allow a person to use, save, and retrieve information from the Internet instead of one's computer

    On Saturday our education technology class was introduced to a number of Web 2.0 tools. I think that most of the applications can be extremely useful for all teachers. For me the most useful Web 2.0 application will be the Google Sites. It is important for me to have a class website. As I do not know computer coding I would not be able to have a website without an applications like Google Sites. While blogs are fun to have, websites are a better place to organized and provide information to the students. I plan on using Google Sites to create a class website where I will provide a calendar of upcoming events, homework assignments, and important links for students. I would then use the class blog to post pictures, videos, class projects and keep everyone updated about the going-ons of the class.

    I think the other most important Web 2.0 tool that I will use is one of the applications that provide video recording, either TokBox or YouTube. As a future social studies teacher, projects are a central component of the curriculum. Being able to record presentations or projects without fiddling with a video camera and trying to transfer it onto a computer is extremely beneficial. It is also great that there are free web-based storage sites like 4shared.com so I don't have to worry about clogging up my computer with pictures and videos.

    On a side note, personally I found the most useful Web 2.0 tool for my daily life Delicious.com. I don't know how many times I ask myself what was that website I found with that information on it or have had to send the link to my gmail so I can have access to it no matter what computer I am on. While having a place to collect all one's favorite websites is not life changing is sure is going to make life a little easier.
    Posted by Educ520-AnnaH at 11:33 AM

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  22. Web 2.0 is WEB BASED and does not require that you be logged on to any particular computer. The information and websites exist on the web which can be accessed from any computer. I love the idea of Web 2.0 tools for teaching because students will be able to interact and collaborate with each other, and also be able to do homework at the library or at home without needing the computer that they used at school. A couple of the web tools that I found particularly interesting were "Dabbleboard" and "Screen Toaster"
    Dabbleboard was so fun to discover, and I think that with more training and practice I could find really creative ways to use this great feature. I love that it is 'live' drawing, the first idea that came to mind was if I was teaching a class on different types of stages in the theater, all of my students could be a part of creating the online whiteboard image of different stages (ie: theatre in the round, thrust, proscenium). The students could take turns drawing where the audience sits and where the stage is, where the actors enter and exit-the possibilities are endless with this web 2.0 tool! Someone did raise I good argument that it was just like a whiteboard except it was online, and I thought about it and recalled my high school middle high years and don't have any record of what went on the whiteboards because they were all erased at the end of the lesson! This virtual whiteboard is just another product that can be saved and catalogued for future use!
    Screen Toaster has been such a fun toll to mess around with. The other night after I got home from class I was skyping with my dad and we got around to talking about hoe he needed a Gmail account. I wanted him to see my Gmail screen and how you could jump to google documents as well as the calendar feature. So, instead of having to tell him step by step I toasted my screen for him! Not only did he love it it also made it much easier for him to understand what may have taken a lot longer to explain. This same route could be used in a classroom if I wanted to show a PowerPoint or have students screen toast for homework and use that as proof of what they searched while online.

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  24. Web 2.0 in a nutshell: Well gee, Barry. It looks to me like Web 2.0 is a way to access everything I've ever wanted on my computer without needing to have my computer! So, say I forgot my laptop on my bed because I fell asleep watching TV on the internet. No problem with Web 2.0, because I can access the technology I need from anywhere.

    Web 2.0's potential to increase effectiveness in my teaching: I'm hoping this will be an easy way for me to be more consistent and efficient as I organize a course--assignments, grading, extra features, etc.

    Example 1: DropBox looks like a fantastic way to avoid losing student work when I travel. This allows me to have a file with documents out there in the virtual world, accessible when I go to visit my Auntie in Boston or when I'm sitting in my pajamas at home on the weekend. I don't have to be at the school to grade papers. I don't have to carry my laptop or create a complicated strategy for saving and locating documents--it's all there, 24 hours a day.

    Example 2: Google Sites is an opportunity for someone like me (not so techy) to create webpages that are functional and professional. I can see myself using a space like this or classjump.com to create a website for my courses, easily accessible for students who have computers and internet. I can keep a much more up-to-date account of what has been happening in the class and remind students of what they're expected to do. I know that if I forget to write something down, it won't often get done. If I can keep an online record for students, they might be more successful in remembering and completing homework.

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  25. Web2.0 is used to describe any web-based platform for applications and services. These applications include sites like Google, Facebook, YouTube, Yahoo, Blogger..... Files on these sites can be accessed and changed anytime, anywhere as long as one has access to the internet. By sharing documents, others can update and change files on these sites so document creation becomes social. Using products such as these save a lot of time and energy that is usually spent on saving files to jumpdrives or emailing documents to yourself because now you can simply access your files on any computer with internet access.

    Web-based platforms can enhance my teaching because it allows my students to see the class documents wherever they are, whether they are at home or on vacation. It will help curb the problems that arise from students missing class. It also allows parents, grandparents, administrators, and other teachers access to the classroom activities to continue the communication and collaboration process. I can access my colleagues work and see what fun activities they are using in the classroom and offer my feedback as well as steal their ideas :)

    Dabbleboard is way cool! It is basically a digital whiteboard that allows you to draw in color on the screen as well as include figures already drawn. It looks like there are a bunch of figures to include like circles, triangles, cylinders, stars... It seems that it would be a great application to use in a math classroom, especially a geometry class where lines of symmetry and figures are important! It would also be helpful in an algebra class when graphing with the x&y axes. Points can be drawn and labeled on the Dabbleboard and lines can be drawn in to connect the points.

    Doodle is a web-based scheduling program. It can be used to send invitations to others to see when they are available and create meeting times. This would be a GREAT product to use when trying to set up parent-teacher meetings when not around conference times. Sometimes it can be really hard to get parents, counselors, and other teachers all on the same page, especially when playing phone tag. If all parties involved have access to the internet, then this program could be easily utilized to help set up a time that works for everyone!

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  26. One application that seems to be pretty useful would be Screen Toaster. This application allows the users to record what they’re doing on screen. If I want to show students a process such as how to navigate through a website, I could record myself doing the navigating. I could then upload the recording to our class website and students could then navigate that same website on their own. If they’re lost or can’t remember how to do certain steps, they could refer to the video.

    UStream (audio and video broadcasting) is a great tool for creating broadcasts. Students are much more social than just sitting at a desk and writing a paper. Why not have them present it orally and make it more personal? This program allows a more social element to having students work on projects and give reports. Schools could use this for their daily announcements; weekly broadcasts or the principal could use it to address the school.

    RSS (Reader) is something I want to get into. I’m tired of having to go back and search for new and updated information by visiting the site. Instead, Google Reader can help me keep me up to date on newest updates to sites I’m subscribing to. It saves me time from having to visit the site and look to see if anything is updated. If I was using a class blog, I could track students’ posts and they could see when I’ve updated our site.

    Dabbleboard might be something I could use that allows students to improve upon stagnant pictures. Adding lines, text, and word bubbles can really make a project come alive. We can use them as flow charts, graphic organizers, diagrams or markup pictures to use in presentations. It’s all very easy to use.

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  27. Web 2.0 means that I can access software, applications, files, etc. from anywhere at anytime, since these things are Internet-based.

    As an educator, I can see these web tools being very useful to me - I can make available all relevant documents to my students - I can quickly release pertinent information to my students and their parents/guardians - I can engage my students in collaborating with each other.

    I like the idea of Yodio. It is an application that records audio from telephones. It also offers the user the ability to upload pictures and make a slide show. I can see doing a project like what was presented in OTEN opening address, where students take pictures of their project and then recording their voice for commentary. I think that's a great idea because students may be uncomfortable being filmed, whereas a picture isn't so bad and....well....everyone likes talking on their cell phone.

    I also like Google Docs. It is basically a web-based program to create, edit, share, and collaborate documents, including papers, spreadsheets, etc. I can see potential in using this as an educator by encouraging its use when having my students work in groups, even if the students don't have access to a computer at home. They could still work on it in the computer lab together. I could also use it to create class-related documents and then easily post those things on my web page.

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  28. Web 2.0 is the paradigm shift that has been and will be taking place in regard to how we use computer applications. Increasingly we are moving away from localized software and storage, and toward a model in which everything exists in the "cloud." The practical applications of this are, primarily, simplicity and availability. Simplicity, because this new model removes issues of compatibility between different machines and operating systems; availability, because these applications are generally free to anyone. This means that a computer like this one, for under $300, and an internet connection, allows a user to do virtually anything.

    I think TokBox sounds like something I might use in future classes. I like the idea of having students create small presentations, skits, speeches, etc. But I absolutely hate for students to waste class time watching them. I think it would be cool for students to post them using this tool, and maybe be required to just watch one out of class. I think it could also be a cool way for students to complete group work outside of class.

    Dabbleboard looks really really cool. I could definitely see using this in class instead of a whiteboard. I also like the fact that it could be used in a computer lab setting where students could modify it as we went through a lecture. I signed up for this one and started using it.

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  29. Web 2.0 is a web-based platform where services and applications live in the clouds--users can enter that world from any computer and use the applications or partake of the services as needed. It is growing all the time and the existing applications and services are being constantly updated. Many really smart people are coming up with great ideas that anybody can use and share. It's very social and very inclusive.

    My favorite tools are Tokbox and RSS (google reader). For teachers (or anybody) being able to make a quick little video, using the webcam that's part of your computer would be great. It looks like you just click "record" and talk to your computer. What a quick way to create a performance assessment that's personal and technical!

    I like the google reader (RSS) also. I've wondered about it for a long time, because I've seen the little letters by the links I use to follow newspapers and other news sources. I would really like having them send me the updates. As a teacher, if I assigned students to post on blogs--especially if they were posting on their own blogs and commenting on one another's posts--it would make me crazy to have to track down all those posts and comments.

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  30. Web2.0 is the collection of many different tools that all use the internet to create, store, and share items. Any person with access to internet can create, store, and share documents, spreadsheets, photos, videos, audio files, blogs, websites, presentations, slide shows, calendars, etc. Web2.0 tools have eliminated the frustration of compatibility issues and the loss of material due to software or hardware crashes. These tools are very useful in a classroom because they allow ALL students to access the same items (ie document or presentation) from any computer with internet. I will not need to remember my computer every day, nor cross my fingers that all the necessary hookups are available, because all material is already there and waiting. These tools also allow me to give quick feedback to students, allow students to give feedback to each other, and eliminate the "dog ate my homework" and "I lost it in my binder" excuses.

    Two tools I found interesting were the audio recording devices like Yodio and UStream and the Google Sites website creator. UStream is a free Web2.0 tool where students can record and broadcast either audio and video or just audio. There is a button where students can link their video to a blog. This would be a great tool for foreign language oral assessments and oral practice. They could upload it to a class blog for me to assess. Google Sites provide a quick and easy (HTML code free) way of designing a class website. This is a great tool for keeping parents informed and to keep students informed in case they forget the assignment or left their notebook at school. It is a one-stop shop for all class information, so information is organized and easily accessible. Also, students may be able to create their own sites and begin a portfolio of their best work and thoughts about the class; this would give them ownership of the content.

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  31. To me, Web 2.0 is basically online software. You can log in from any internet-capable computer or phone and instantly have access to your account without having to download anything onto the computer you are using. These tools could be useful as interactive tools that students can access from anywhere, as well as being useful since I would be able to update some (if they were group oriented) from my home, school, or elsewhere.

    Being able to use something like delicious.com would make it possible to share specific websites. Through wordpress there is a widget that will automatically update your sites that you bookmark on delicious.com. This would be helpful to keep students apprised (through a class blog) of what I think might be helpful for a specific assignment or just generally interesting.

    Scribbler is a web-based program that is like having an interactive whiteboard. This could be helpful in my geometry classes so that students could play around with shapes. I could create a template and then the students could log on and manipulate the shapes. They can see relationships between shapes, angles and their sizes.

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  32. Web2.0 allows for far greater communication and collaboration than ever before. It changes the way the average person can use the web. It also changes the way even someone not technologically literate to do what was once something hard like creating a website. I have, for instance, written code to create a website, and used Dreamweaver, but I just checked Google Sites and was blown away by how easy it is. You can still be creative and create a site which is something that is important to me! When I become a teacher I will have a class website that will have the course syllabus and schedule and links, and other tools for students but also parents to access.Skyping is a really cool thing for a classroom. You can connect potentially with anyone in the world. Say you are teaching a class about China--you could connect with a teacher in China and have them talk to your students in the classroom. How cool is that!

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  33. Friday, October 16, 2009
    My Favorite Web2.0 Tools
    Web 2.0 is a platform for applications and tools that are available on the internet. The programs are all trial-type programs, meaning they could be removed or disappear at any time. The applications don't require the user to download files onto their laptop, desktop or phone. For most programs, the user creates an account by providing limited personal information. I looked at several of the tools and liked most of what I saw.

    http://tinyurl.com/
    This is a nice little tool for making long, clunky urls small. Also, you can rename the url if you want something easy to remember. I like to use this for blog posts or facebook comments because it makes for a nicer, less cluttered comment or post. This would be useful in the classroom to provide students with an easy-to-remember url. For example, some long link to a biological research site or website could be renamed to: www.tinyurl.com/biosearch-Mrs.Wright.

    http://google.com
    http://wave.google.com
    What does google NOT do? From documents to websites to blogs and email, google is pretty much one-stop shopping. Today I watched a demo on Google Wave, a soon-to-be released live collaboration tool. It's like a virtual meeting where documents, photos, presentations, etc. can be viewed by participants who can then make comments and corrections live. The communication events are called waves and can be stored, organized, shared, embedded, etc. I didn't understand all of the possibilities, but it seems like a conference call with all the perks of sharing photos, data, presentations and the like. It think the only thing missing is the actual handshake or applause at the end of the meeting. This is an awesome tool for collaborating live with students or other teachers. You could have interviews, conferences, and live discussions this way. A group of students working on a science project, for example, could share and comment on their part of the project. For example, if one student is making a slide show, one student is writing the text to go with the slides, and one student is doing a demo...all the pieces could be shared and commented on by the group-LIVE. Also, there is a playback feature, so if a student or teacher joined the wave late, they could review everyone's comment, when it was made, and any editing of text that took place and by whom. Really cool...can't wait until it's available to everyone.

    http://delicious.com
    I just checked out this tool and signed up because I am anticipating an increase in bookmarked sites. This tool manages all personal bookmarks by organizing them with tags. They are accessible anywhere from any computer or browser by just logging into their site. The great thing about this is that as teachers we can share our bookmarks with our students, for example, if we have certain research sites that we especially want them to use. Also, collaborating teachers could share the sites they like for lesson development, pictures, demos, presentations or laboratory experiments. In addition, students and teachers frequently find websites that are helpful with regard to a certain topic and those could be easily shared and organized using this application. So far, I envision groups of bookmarks organized under headings such as experiments, research, lessons, students, teachers...and the list goes on.

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  34. A Web2.0 tool is any web application or service. I think the most important thing to know about Web2.0 is that it is social. You can create and share anything! Web 2.0 is all about connections between people. These tools are very useful for using technology in the classroom because they enable everyone to share and collaborate in a way that is assessable to everyone, anywhere, all the time.

    I also see a lot of applications for photo/imagining, video and audio tools for individual and group projects. A lot of these tools allow students to make connections between subjects, concepts, and eachother in ways that would be difficult otherwise. Here are just a couple Web2.0 tools I am interested in exploring further.

    1) Dabbleboard-A cool tool that allows you to have a virtual whiteboard right on your computer screen. It also allows for collaboration. You can invite collaboraters and you can even chat right there as you are working on writing, drawing and making connections about any subject. You can e-mail your creation to anyone or make it public to dabble board users. You can enter text, draw free hand, insert shapes, insert pdf documents, previous images done in Dabbleboard (saved in library) and uploaded images. You can also download a snapshot of your white board to your computer as an image file. I think one of the coolest features is that it recognizes the shape you are trying to draw so drawing is super fast and the circle you were trying to draw actually looks like a circle!
    I think that this is a great tool of making a quick graphic organizer or concept map. There are a lot of cool pragrams out there for doing this like Imagination or VUE with a host of awesome features but because this recognizes shapes you are tyring to draw and all you have to do is click and start typing you can quickly create these types of graphics...probably as fast as you could draw them on a physical white board (and this is far more legible). I could see having the Doodleboard white board projected on the screen during class so that we, as a class, can input information graphically and I can simply print the result for my students, post the image on our class blog or share it with students by a variety of means.

    2)Delicous...I just discovered it and I'm super excited!! I have been coming across many cool websites as I've begun exploring the teaching profession and I want to save them all but have refrained from doing so because I want to keep the bookmarks list simple on my computer. I have limited my bookmarking to the sites I use most frequently such as the Willamette site, Facebook, US Bank, etc. but no more!! I can use delicious to bookmark all the cool sites I find. The delicious allows you to assign tags to a bookmark making it easy to find at a later date (when pursumably you have a very large collection of bookmarks that you don't want to sift through). I like that this will allow me to access everything I bookmark at home at school and vis-versa...pretty cool. I'm excited to give this tool a try. And oh ya...you can share all or some of your bookmarks with others.

    Kora

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  35. Web2.0 is web based applications allowing users to use various computers to access any and all of the files and information as long as there is access to the internet. Users are no longer dependent on just one computer to access their files. The information can also be shared by unlimited users. It is to soon for me to say how many ways these tools can be used in classrooms, because I am just beginning to learn about them myself. I do believe they can be a powerfulallies for teachers.
    Dabbleboard is a neat tool that can be used in classrooms. It is another tool that a teacher can use to help catch the attention of their students. It enables students to interact more with each other and definitely increases student participation. It is basically a live magna doodle board that can be used by several students at the same time. I am not sure how it could be used within PE class', but just the same I thought it was pretty cool. I did share this tool with my wife who is a grade school teacher. She mentioned several ways this could be utilized in her classroom immediately.
    UStream is an awesome tool that can be used by teachers, students and also parents. It was easy to use (or amazingly enough I am getting better at finding my way around these sites) and it only took me a few minutes. I can only imagine kids would jump all over a tool like this if it was implemented in their class'. I am sure it something that a lot of kids already utilize on a recreational basis. What a great tool to help improve the communication lines between everyone involved in the class.
    Scott B

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